TIL an old timer taught me a trick with the load line on my Grove crane

I was setting up for a job in Knoxville last spring when this guy named Pete, who had to be in his 70s, walked up and watched me for a minute. He pointed out I was taking up too much slack on the hoist before lifting and said 'Son, that extra wrap is just asking for a kink.' I adjusted it like he showed me and the lift went smoother than any I'd done before. Has anyone else had a veteran operator give them a simple tip that changed how they run their rig?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah3201mo ago

Learned that one the hard way myself once. Wrapped up an extra loop for 'safety' and spent the next hour untangling a mess that looked like my dog chewed on a slinky. Pete sounds like the kind of guy who could save us all a headache or two.

hugos461mo ago

So did he say why that extra wrap messes with the lift?

-1

drew_hart41mo ago

Yeah that extra wrap thing is actually a big deal. @hugos46 the guy said it messes with the lift because it changes the angle of the cable as it comes off the drum. When you add that extra wrap the cable sits different and puts weird pressure on the pulleys. It can make the whole thing bind up or wear out way faster than normal. Ive seen it happen on a few setups where people thought they were being clever by adding more wraps but they just made everything worse. Better to stick with what the manual says or you'll end up replacing parts sooner than you should.